6 Reasons Why Women Should Invest their Future in FinTech

Why Women Should Invest their Future in the FinTech Space

FinTech, as with the larger technology sector, may seem male-dominated. However, women are increasingly embarking on careers in FinTech, and many more are working their way up to senior management positions. With diversity being a big theme in tech, and more specifically FinTech, and the ceaseless search for innovative products that break down cultural and gender barriers, now is the perfect time for women to consider a FinTech career.

IRENE LIM

Member, SCS Honouree, SG100WIT List 2021 Executive Director, APAC Technology Management Office, Singapore Technology Centre, J.P. Morgan

Armed with a business degree in Financial Analysis with no STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) background, a career in tech was naturally not a top-ofmind choice for me. Being unfamiliar with the tech sector also added to my apprehension. Undecided, I was inspired by the words of a senior female leader at one of the career seminars held in Nanyang Technological University. She said to me, “If you are passionate and willing to learn, no one can stop you from having a successful career in Technology!”

PLENTY OF LEARNING AND GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES

That was 20 years ago – when I joined J.P. Morgan as a management graduate trainee, focusing on the Technology business. Since then, I have taken on multiple portfolios in the Corporate & Investment Bank and Enterprise Technology departments. That single decision has not only seeded my career growth in Singapore, it has also given me opportunities to work in various headquarters and branches of J.P. Morgan around the world, including New York, Hong Kong and Japan.

FRONT-ROW SEAT TO SOME OF THE BEST TECH ACTIONS

The financial industry has undergone some major transformation over the years and technology is at the heart of these rapid changes – whether it is to improve customer experience or business operations. From mobile banking, e-payments to cryptocurrency, I don’t just get to spectate the trends, but experience them first-hand, and in some cases even contribute to them. The pace of innovation will only get faster, and to join FinTech now is to opt in on this exciting growth and be an agent in pushing the financial sector to the next frontier.

JOINING FINTECH IS CHOOSING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR WOMEN

As technologists, we play an important role in positively impacting communities – building better, safer, faster solutions for our clients, our employees, our communities and the world. According to the World Economic Forum statistics, women account for 55% of the world’s unbanked population1. For many of these almost one billion women, they have no access to banking or insurance products. Tech is the catalyst for change.

J.P. Morgan invests US$12 billion in technology annually and hires 50,000 technologists worldwide – processing 26 million transactions a day worth between US$6-8 trillion a day across over 130 currencies, and innovating and creating products at scale (e.g. JPM Coin – a digital coin that leverages blockchain technology to enable instantaneous payments). At the heart of all that we do, we are working to build a more equitable and inclusive world.

WOMEN CAN EXCEL IN THE FINTECH SPACE

As a self-taught technologist and now advocate for women in STEM, I feel strongly about females having the same opportunities as men in FinTech. It is also my belief that women can make good tech leaders. Just like how I was inspired by a female senior leader, I hope to inspire other girls and women in Singapore to join and build their careers in tech. Hence, I have pioneered programmes promoting women in STEM fields. One example is the “Winning Women in Technology” initiative launched in 2017 in J.P. Morgan Singapore. Since its launch, we saw a significant increase in female graduate hires in our Software Engineer Programme. This initiative has since been expanded beyond the technology function to become a company-wide Women Mentoring Programme, benefitting more women across the various lines of businesses in J.P. Morgan.

FINTECH NEEDS WOMEN

The FinTech industry needs a diverse technology workforce for a long-term strategic purpose, pronto. The financial services industry is one of the fastestgrowing industries and needs women who are passionate about technology to fill positions in Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud, blockchain and data analytics. At J.P. Morgan, our strategy is to promote greater diversity, equity, inclusivity and accessibility by focusing on engagement, education and empowering.

FINTECH OFFERS A FULFILLING CAREER

As part of my personal goal to pay it forward, I carve out time to coach, inspire and sponsor girls and women, both within and outside J.P. Morgan, to help them discover their potential and pursue a career in tech. It is my hope to lead by example the importance of being open minded and unafraid to try and learn new things – be it tech and digital skills or professional and social skills. I am confident that as long as we build appropriate attitudes, we will be well poised to keep our career progressing on the right track.